Husking hook



Sept. 6, 1938. H, J. KELLY 2,129,218

HUSKING HOOK Filed June 22, 1937 Patented Sept. 6, 1938 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

My invention relates to husking hooks used in husking corn.

More particularly it is my object to provide a husking hook of verysimple, durable and inexpensive construction which has what I may forconvenience call a two-way hook with a hook projecting upwardly in thedirection of the; arm (which is of regular and ordinary construction),which hook also has a hook projecting across the palm of the hand andaway from the thumb (when the hook is installed).

Another object is to provide a hook of the kind under considerationmounted so as to be located just above the base of the ball of thethumb-When 1n use.

The advantages of this two-Way hook will appear below.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of myhusking hook, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, ashereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, andillustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a hook embodying my invention; and

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the same.

In the drawing herewith I have shown at IIJ a leather wrist bandintended to t over the front of the wrist and upper part of the hand andthumb. For convenience I have shown the hand in dotted lines indicatedat II in Figure 1.

Secured to the upper part of the wrist band IIl, at the top thereof, isa strap I3 and a buckle I4 for fastening the upper part of the wristband snugly around the wrist.

My hook is formed preferably integrally as a part of a metal plate I5.The plate is riveted to the front of the wrist band I and has a curvednger I6 extending away to where it will be slightly beyond the secondknuckle of the thumb when in use. At the extreme end of the linger I6 isa strap slot I'I.

At the lower part of the plate I5, at what would be substantially thebase of the thumb, a hook member I8 is formed by bending the material ofthe plate away from the portion which fits against the hand and thenupwardly toward the wrist portion, as indicated in Figure l. This is,broadly speaking, a general structure, although it is located closer tothe thumb than are most husking hooks.

My hook, however, has a second hook member or pointed portion I9projecting from the main hook I8, substantially parallel with the plateI5,

and in a direction to be away from the thumb when the hook is on thehand.

Thus when the hook is on the hand for use, the hook I8 will be pointedin the general direction of the wrist, and the hook member I9 will bepointed generally away from the thumb, as shown in Figure 1.

Secured to the plate I5, at the place that will be over the center ofthe palm when the device is in use, is a second strap intended to extend1o around the thumb of the hand and which is then threaded through theslot I1 and extended around the back of the wrist and fastened to abuckle 2| on the plate I0.

In Figure 1 the hook is shown placed on the l5 hand in position for use.For convenience I call it a two-Way husking hook.

My two-Way husking hook is superior to other husking hooks in use,because it makes it possible to more conveniently and quickly make 20openings through the husks on small ears of corn (and ears located incertain positions).

I believe the use and advantages of my twoway husking hook will be clearafter I refer briefly to the ordinary method of husking. Q5

For husking by a right handed person, my hook can, of course, be used inthe ordinary way.

In the ordinary husking process, the ear is caught by the left handapproximately in the center, with the thumb toward the small or silk endof the ear. Almost all huskers wear cotton work gloves.

The two-way husking hook is strapped on the right hand, and the nextoperation involves drawing the hook I8 across the opposite side of theear, loosening the husk and removing them on that side.

Third, the left hand, with the original hold it had on the ear, gathersthe remaining loosened husks and holds them While the right hand breaksthe ear from the stalk.

This is known as the one-two-three motion and is the procedure used withgreat speed by champions, who husk as many as thirty to forty ears perminute.

This procedure works satisfactorily for large and medium size earslocated so they can be properly grasped by the left hand in the mannersuggested.

But for small ears and nubbins, or for ears lying on the ground, or forears hanging in the wrong position on the stalk, I have found that myhook I9 can be used with great convenience.

With the ordinary one-way husking hook it is almost impossible to makethe opening through the husk on small ears or nubbins, and it is veryinconvenient to husk ears that lie in certain positions with relation tothe husker. In ordinary husking of small ears, the hook catches in theleft hand mitten near the nger tips as the ear is so small that it ishard to grasp it in the left hand and insert the hook in the huskwithout catching the material of the mitten.

My two-way. husking hook will loosen the husk on the ears of any sizeand on ears` in any posi tion without eXtra effort on the part of thehusker, and without the necessity for using any other device. Manyhuskers use a husking peg in addition to the husking hook in order totake care of small ears.

Where the ear is too small to conveniently use the hook I8, the methodemployed is. asfollows:

Instead of grasping the small ear with the left hand in the ordinary wayas above explained, it-is caught between the thumb and ngers of the lefthand, nextto the smallend, and then the-right hand is shoved across theear away fromthe husker, using the hook I9 above the thumb of the lefthand. The motion of the right hand is away from the left hand mitteninstead of toward it, and the husk can be loosened without Vinterferencewith the mitten -on the left hand. Then the left hand removesl and holdsthe husks in the same manner as has been heretofore ex .plained,` whilethe ear is being broken from the stalk bythe right hand. This mode ofoperation: cannot be fol-lowed with other husking hooks.

Sometimes also ears hang on the stalk so as to be pointing directlytoward the person doing the husking. In thatcase, instead of ratherawkwardly turning-the hand to catch the ear in the standard fashion,this ear may be caught by the left hand with the thumb toward the buttof the ear. The right hand is then shoved A'down on the opposite sidefrom'the left hand,

using the hook I9 to loosenV the husk, after which the regular procedureis followedto nish the husking of thatrear.

Also there are always some ears lying on the ground. They do not have tobe caught in the standard fashion because they are loose from the stalk.The husker picks them up in the easiest way and uses which ever one ofthe hooks I8 or I9 is most convenient. After the ear is grasped in theordinary way, it is husked in the manner rst above explained. If the earshould be grasped with the thumb toward the butt, then the hook I9 isused as heretofore explained.

It is probably a fact that the advantages which have been mentioned hereare hard to appreciate without actually using the two-way hook in theeld.

i of thethumb of the wearer, said hook member .having a second sharpenedhook member in substantially the same plane as the rst hookmemberprojecting at a right angle to the rst hook member and away fromthe thumb of the wearer substantially parallel Ywiththe plate, and aholding strap connected to the plate and adapted to be extended underthe thumb.

2. In a device of the class described, a plate, means for holding theplate adjacent the ball of the thumb of a wearer, said plate having ahooklike portion formed from the material of the plate bent away fromthe plate and thence parallel therewith, so that it will point towardthe wrist of the wearer when installed, said hooklike portion having asharpened pointed projec tion in the same plane as the hook-like portionextending at a right angle to the hooklike portion so as to 4be parallelwithV the palm of the `hand and point away from the thumb when thedevice is in use. Y

HAROLD J. KELLY.

